Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Prepare For Blastoff

I remember
waking up on 9/11 and turning on CNN. A plane had just crashed into the World
Trade Center and nobody had a clue. Close-ups showed fire coming from the
floors hit by the plane.

I stayed rooted
to the TV for hours. When the second plane hit, I saw it live and I, along with
everyone else, knew this was no accident.

When the
first of the towers fell, I was horrified. Time seemed to slow down. There was
pandemonium in the streets. When the second tower fell it was like a slow
motion replay.

People
were covered in pulverized concrete. The human misery was palpable.

Reports
continued to come in as 2 other planes went down. One hit the Pentagon and the
other crashed into a field. There were also erroneous reports of shootings in
Washington.

By the end
of the day, I was emotionally depleted. I thought this is what it must have
felt like when people heard about Pearl Harbor. I wanted to help, but I had no
idea how.

In the
months that followed, things changed. By the time we invaded Iraq, I believed
we had completely lost our way and our leaders were not being honest with us.
That proved to be true.

We became
mired in a senseless war and our economy was on the verge of total
collapse. Thousands more Americans were dying. Hundreds of thousands
of Iraqis were dying. The Middle East was exploding while Iraq imploded.

When
Barack Obama was elected, it was like oxygen was pumped back into the air.
Things slowly started to turn around. The war ended. The economy rebounded. The
troops came home, but the Middle East continued to crumble.

On the
home front, the Republicans brought Washington to a halt. The political
corruption and war profiteering that took place during the Bush
administration was put on hold. It was in suspended animation. People worked
hard, out of sight, in the background waiting for Obama's final term
to end.

I could
not believe Donald Trump was actually on the ballot in 2016. The thought of him
was both ridiculous and terrifying. I didn't stay up to see the final results
on election day. When I woke up the next morning, I turned on the news and went
on the internet and found out Trump had won.

Since the
election, I again feel like things are unfolding in slow motion. It all seems
surreal. It's like the shock of 9/11 all over again with one notable
distinction, Donald Trump will be our next President.

The
confirmation hearings on Trump's appointees started today. We are in the final
countdown. 10, 9, 8 - you know the drill. On January 20th we blast off.

We are a
divided people. We are witnessing a modern day version of Sherman's march to
the sea. The Trump juggernaut is unfolding before us and I don't think we will
recover from this one.

This last
election cycle is unprecedented. No one had a clue. We are scurrying to come up
with a rationalization for what happened so we can pretend that the Earth is
still maintaining its orbit, when, in fact, we are hurtling to an increasingly
unknown and alien future.

The orbit
we are now in is just as apt to crash us into the Sun or take us into a black
hole.